


The Heir

by Captainamelly



Category: Red White & Royal Blue - Casey McQuiston
Genre: Future Fic, Henry becomes King, Kid Fic, Multi, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-23
Updated: 2020-06-23
Packaged: 2021-03-04 00:54:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,324
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24884917
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Captainamelly/pseuds/Captainamelly
Summary: Henry was not expecting to get a call from Philip informing him that he was abdicating. And yet, here he was trying desperately to wake up from whatever freakish nightmare his mind had conjured up for him.Or in other words, the one where Henry becomes the next in line for the throne.
Relationships: Alex Claremont-Diaz/Henry Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor, Martha Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor/Philip Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor
Comments: 22
Kudos: 124





	The Heir

**Author's Note:**

> Ok, so the first chapter is a little bit of a downer. This is going to be a happy lighthearted story, but since it takes place 12 years in the future I had to construct a narrative that would support Philip's decision to step down. This first chapter is heavily focused on Martha and Philip's relationship following their wedding. Content warning: There is a lot of mentions of miscarriages in this chapter.

Henry and Philip were not the type of siblings who just called each other up without it being previously discussed and arranged by their assistants. Which is why it came as a surprise when Henry’s phone started ringing one random Monday when he was walking to a courtroom with Alex and boy from youth shelter along with the lesbian couple who decided to be the boy's guardians until he turned 18. This was the last court hearing they had to appear at before it became official, Alex had been doing this case pro-bono, as he often did regarding legal cases with the youth shelter. After all these years Alex was still in the business of helping people and fighting for the little guy.

Henry paused for a second when he read the name on the display. He glanced up at Alex and said “It’s Philip.”

A look passed between them, one that was probably unnoticeable to the rest of their group. 12 years and 3 kids later they had perfected communicating non-verbally. They both knew that if Philip was calling, it was nothing good, though what that could be was anyone’s guess. Alex and the rest of the group tried distance themselves and Henry, but it was hard to do so in the small hallway, they talked quietly amongst themselves to give the illusion of privacy. It didn’t really matter; everyone had signed an NDA since they were working so closely with the royals.

“Hello Philip,” Henry answered.

“I need to tell you some news Henry.”

Henry broke out into a grin, “Are you and Martha--”

“I’m abdicating.”

The word expecting died on Henry’s lips and he stood frozen for a couple of seconds, unsure if he heard his brother correctly.

“I’m sorry?” Henry asked, his smile dropping a little and his eyebrows unconsciously crinkling.

Alex glanced his way, curious as to what Philip was saying over the phone. Henry was usually better at maintaining his mask when talking to Philip, especially in the presence of company.

“Martha and I have been talking and we decided that it was in our best interest, as well as the country's if I step back. I wanted to tell you before we made the announcement in an hour.”

Henry took a deep breath and tried to process what Philip was telling him and keep his emotions in check. “Look Philip, I’m not sure when you decided to try out a sense of humor, but this isn’t funny.”

“It’s not a joke, Henry. Look, it’s been a long time coming, Martha and I have been discussing this for the past year. We’re leaving.”

“Philip, I don’t understand what you’re saying.”

Everyone in the group tried to look inconspicuous while they listened in on the conversation, trying to figure out what Philip was telling Henry that made him so confused and angry. Alex took a step forward and reached out to Henry to comfort him, but Henry brushed him off, distracted and overwhelmed by the call he was receiving.

“Henry, I’m sorry.”

“Philip…. Philip?” Henry called as the line went dead. He stared at his phone, desperately wanting to wake up from whatever freakish nightmare his mind had conjured up for him. 

* * *

As soon as the vows were said and documents signed, people all over the world had a laser focus on Martha’s stomach. Royal Baby Bump Watch. Anytime Martha accidentally brushed against her stomach rumors flew that she was expecting, and everyone speculated on whether or not she would have a traditional birth or c-section, what they would name the child, and so on.

Martha and Philip began trying right away, as was expected of them, but it took two and a half years before two lines appeared on the pregnancy test that Martha got her university roommate to buy for her. After so many false calls, she took this one, like the previous 5, alone in her bathroom in the middle of the night while Philip was out of the country on official royal duty.

She stared in disbelief at the two lines, half convinced that there was some error, or that it was a trick of the light. She had peed on 20 more sticks by the time Philip came home a week later. He’s pleased, though Martha knows he has never been excited about becoming a parent. This was something that was expected of him and she was under no disillusion that it was anything more.

They told the Queen and Catherine that they were expecting and decided to wait a little longer before first telling friends and family, then later announcing it to the world. Henry and Alex’s wedding was quickly approaching and neither Martha nor Philip wanted to distract the happy couple from their upcoming nuptials.

Martha was ten weeks along; she had carefully selected a dress for the upcoming royal wedding to hid her barely noticeable protruding stomach. It shouldn’t be noticeable to an outsider; it was barely visible when she looked at it in the mirror. Just enough to make her favorite pair of pants a little snug. She knew there was a good chance that the media was going to make some speculations even if she hid her bump perfectly, but she didn’t want to add any more fuel to the fire.

Two days before the wedding, Martha started to notice aches and pains coming from her abdomen. She wasn’t worried, everything she read said that this was normal, it was called “round ligament pain” and was just her body’s way of making room for her child. She wasn’t worried that is until she started spotting. She knew that seeing blood, at any stage of pregnancy was never good. Her doctor asked her to come in, by the time she reached the car to take her to her doctor’s office, she was bleeding so hard that they elected to quietly take her to the emergency room. The doctors there confirmed her worst thought-- she had lost the baby.

Philip held her as she lay in the hospital bed, crying and mourning for the child she never got to meet.

Somehow the press never got wind that Martha had ended up in the hospital, she probably had the hustle and bustle of the royal wedding to thank for that, made even more hectic given that it was a wedding between the First Son of the United States and the Prince of Wales.

The worse part was that, in the days that followed, her body didn’t seem to get the memo that she wasn’t pregnant anymore. She still had her minuscule baby bump, her breast were still just a tiny bit bigger and sore, and she woke up every morning emptying her stomach into the toilet bowl.

Philip said she didn’t have to go to the wedding, but Martha knew what she was getting into when she agreed to marry into the royal family. Head up, shoulders back, stiff upper lip, and never let them see you cry. The dress did the job for the most part and hid the signs that she had been pregnant 2 days ago. Some papers made some passing remarks about her possibly being pregnant but none of them caught on.

Three months later, Martha found herself in a similar situation-- sitting on the bathroom floor, staring at the stick she had peed on 3 minutes earlier. However, this time, Philip was sitting next to her, holding her hand as they waited for the results to show. After the first miscarriage, he had gotten more protective of her and made sure she had every need taken care of. Even though he had seen fatherhood as a duty, he had still mourned for the loss of their unborn child.

“I can’t look,” Martha said while covering her eyes. “You need to tell me.”

Philip kissed the top of her head, “Anything you need.”

He crept forwards, peaking at the stick. A smile erupted on his face as he returned to where Martha was sitting. He placed his hand on her stomach and whispered “Yes.”

Her hand fell from her face and she looked at him through tear-filled eyes, “Really?”

He smiled and leaned down to kiss her, “Really.”

She called her doctor and made an appointment for an ultrasound the following week. She never got the chance to hear her baby’s heartbeat. 5 days after she started bleeding. It wasn’t heavy, she wasn’t far enough along for that, it was like her period decided to come a little bit late. Her doctor confirmed it when she went in to see him. She had lost another baby.

She lost the third pregnancy much like she did the second. Public scrutiny was building, it was approaching her third anniversary and she could feel the eyes of the world turn towards her and her stomach.

Almost a year after they had gotten married, Henry and Alex announced that they had found a surrogate to carry their first baby. For legal, line of succession reasons, Henry had to be the genetic father, but they had found a Latina American woman, a friend they had met in New York, to carry for them so that the child would have some connection to Alex. They announced the pregnancy after the surrogate reached the second trimester, careful to keep her identity from the press.

Martha met her when she flew out to London for her final trimester. Along with Henry being the biological dad, it was decided (or rather the Queen insisted) that the child be born in the UK. She let Martha feel the baby kick, which made her heart tighten. She was eight weeks pregnant but didn't dare tell a soul besides her doctor. She was terrified that she would lose another baby. Martha knew she would start showing soon, not enough for it to be visible to an outsider, but Philip would surely notice.

At thirteen weeks, they decided to announce it to the world. The press was ecstatic that there were two royal buns in the oven. Martha hoped that the cousins would be close, she pictured them taking holidays together at the seaside. Perhaps this would bring the two brothers closer. 

Two weeks later, Martha woke up with feeling familiar cramping in her abdomen. She looked down and noticed blood on the sheets. She reached over and shook Philip awake.

This time, there was no royal wedding to distract the media. By morning the street outside the hospital was lined with reporters. They didn’t know which royal was in the hospital, but most of them thought that it was Henry and Alex’s surrogate. The world was abuzz with the news that a new royal would soon join the world.

Inside the hospital, doctors worked tirelessly to try a prevent Martha from hemorrhaging. 

Buckingham Palace put out a statement saying that the HRH Prince Philip and Princess Martha of Wales were saddened to announce that they had lost their child the evening prior. They respectfully ask for privacy during this difficult time.

Bea came to visit them in the hospital. While Philip and Bea would never be as close as Bea and Henry, the royal siblings had worked hard to maintain what was left of their relationships after the Waterloo letter scandal.

Martha was asleep in the bed when Bea walked in. Philip was sitting at her bedside holding onto her hand like it was his lifeline, his eyes red and puffy. He didn’t take his eyes off Martha as Bea placed a hand on his shoulder.

“I almost lost her,” he said, his voice cracking.

“I heard,” Bea said, pulling up a chair to sit next to him. “I’m so sorry.”

“The doctors—the doctors managed to stop the bleeding. I couldn’t do anything to help, I just stood in the corner while Martha was fighting for her life.” He paused, leaning over to brush a single hair from Martha’s face. “I’ve never felt so helpless. When Dad died, there wasn’t much we could do except be there for him. I can’t lose her like I lost Dad, Bea. I don’t think I could take it.”

“Shh Pip, it’s okay, Martha’s okay. I know that this was scary and I’m so sorry that you had to go through this…” she pauses for a second, unsure if she should continue. “I did some research though, the chance of another miscarriage happening again is very low.”

“This is the fourth.”

Bea’s eyes furrow. “What?”

“This is the fourth time we’ve lost a baby.” Tears start to silently fall down his cheek.

Bea placed her arm around his shoulder, pulling him close. “I’m so sorry Pip,” she says, voice choked with emotion, “I’m so so sorry.”

Five weeks later, Henry and Alex welcome Margaret Anne Marie Claremont-Diaz-Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor to the world. (Don’t worry, she goes by Margaret Wales in school.)

It takes a year and a half for them to start talking about trying again. It comes at the heels of the death of Queen Mary. The pressure on them to have a baby begins to mount, but it’s not until Henry and Alex welcome their second child, Benjamin (affectionally called Benji by close family and friends) that the couple start to try again.

Even with all the fertility doctors and prenatal vitamins, Martha starts to spot seven weeks in. The doctors try to save to baby to no avail.

Martha’s sixth miscarriage occurs six months later, four months before the birth Henry and Alex’s third child, Arthur.

Some people suggested using a surrogate like Henry and Alex did, but neither Martha nor Philip felt like that was something they wanted. At this point, after suffering, so much loss, neither of them were looking forward to trying again.

The media started treating the royal couple more cruelly. Gone were the sympathies given to them after Martha’s public miscarriage. Now, the press ripped into Martha for not being able to get pregnant. After all, didn’t she know that was her sole responsibility being married to a royal? Speculations flew that Philip was going to divorce Martha and marry baroness who could give him the heir he deserved. The press tore into their relationship, not holding anything back. Martha tried not to let it get to her, but to see her picture splattered across the covers of multiple magazines with the word "BARREN" written in big fat letters cut into her soul.

Somehow word got out about her previous miscarriages, which just added fuel to the fire.

But throughout it all, Philip stood by her side. Many couples going through fertility problems often find a divide forming between them, but not Philip and Martha. Philip bent over backward for Martha, claiming that he fell deeper and deeper in love with her every day. Martha liked to joke that his love must be as deep as the Mariana Trench. Philip would just smile and say “The Mariana Trench has nothing on my love for you.”

When the press would spin tales of separation and discord between them, Philip would bring her tea prepared just the way she liked. When some upper-class woman made a snide remark at a fundraiser, Philip would take her home at the end of the night and kiss her until she forgot her own name. When advisors pressured them to try again, Philip would whisk her away to the countryside for a holiday.

The seventh time she became pregnant it was by accident. They had stopped actively trying almost 2 years ago. She told Philip in hushed tones as they laid in bed one night, neither one of them willing to get their hopes up.

The press noticed she had stopped drinking champagne at events. Rumors she was pregnant again spread like wildfire. Talk show host made comments like “Hopefully she’ll manage to hang on to this one” while rolling their eyes.

The press tried desperately to grab the first picture of her bump, photoshopping the photo to make her look fatter and bigger.

She lost this one much like the first, ten weeks along. It wasn’t nearly as dramatic as her fourth, but she had been pregnant for just long enough that a little seed of hope had begun to grow.

Philip held her close, promising to never let go.

The press loved the American Royals. They enjoyed watching Margaret attend a private school in New York, watching Benji chase their dog in Central Park, and watching Arthur discover his love for sticking his tongue out at the numerous cameras facing his way. Henry and Alex worked to promote LGBTQ+ rights around the world, Henry working hard at his youth shelter, Alex fighting for the little guy in court.

Every summer, they would come back to the UK for the entire school break and show the kids where their Dad grew up. Anytime Margaret (or Benji once he started kindergarten) had a prolonged break, it would be almost a guarantee that they would come to England to visit. 

As much as the press loved Henry’s family, they hated Martha. They hated that she never had any kids. She remembers when the media used to speak about her with such hope and happiness, a new generation of royals coming of age, and the heartbreak and anguish after she nearly died from a miscarriage. But that was so long ago. Now all they saw was a failure.

A year and a half later, Martha had her last miscarriage. She had accepted a long time ago that she was never going to be a mother, but as her forties were creeping up on her, both she and Philip sat down and decided to try it one more time. Though they would never admit it, neither one of them were surprised when she woke up bleeding in the middle of the night at her 11th-week mark.

They were both tired. Tired of the pressure and scrutiny they faced constantly. Two months after the miscarriage, Philip mentioned the idea casually as they drank tea together in the garden.

“What if I abdicated?”

Martha almost choked on her tea, “I’m sorry?”

“Almost every day I have to read the press digging into you, calling you a failure. Calling me a failure, calling both of us a failure because we can’t have kids. If I wasn’t in the line of succession, they wouldn’t care that we don’t have kids.”

Martha sighed, “Philip, you’ve wanted to be king for as long as I can remember, don’t throw it away because the press is being mean.”

She leans over and places her hand over his. “I’m a big girl, not to mention we’ve been married for 11 years. I can handle the press. No one can make me feel inferior without my consent.”

Philip was bringing his cup up to his lips when he paused, glancing over he raised his eyebrow and said, “Princess Diaries?”

Martha smiled and shrugged, “It’s a classic.”

But the more the year progressed the more abdicating made sense. Philip would never father kids, it made sense to him to have the crown pass directly over him to Henry. Henry already had 3 children in line. Philip was convinced that the country would react better to Henry being King once their mother passed if it was an already accepted fact. Philip couldn’t continue the bloodline, but Henry could.

The final event the secured his decision to step down was when lifetime decided to film a low budget film on his and Martha’s life, emphasizing that Martha would never be a mother. They poked and prodded at the fact that Martha failed as a woman, that she couldn't fulfill the one task given to her.

When Philip informed Martha that he had made up his mind, she simply smiled and said she would follow him wherever he led.

He took a deep breath and picked up the phone.

**Author's Note:**

> I promise that I will write more about Alex and Henry in the next chapter :) I hope you guys liked it! I really enjoyed writing it. Feel free to drop some comments, I'm a hoe for comments lol


End file.
